Czech 2005 prospects: an early look at 10

The opening month turned out to be successful for the industriousforward Vladimir Sobotka, who took the junior Extraleague by storm duringthe first three weeks of play. Sobotka is continuing his quick progressand has separated himself from the rest of his Slavia Praha juniorteammates with his crafty offensive play and an ability to play bigger thanhis size and perform in traffic with regularity. Sobotka was sittingatop the Czech junior Extraleague scoring race after four games and nowis still tied for the lead on the Slavia Praha junior team even though hedoesn’t travel to all the games. His efforts earned him a promotion tothe deep Slavia Praha senior team, where his role is reduced to afourth line duty thanks to the presence of several NHL players on the roster.He doesn’t see much ice time on the senior team and no power play time,which does also reflect in his stats.

Jakub Vojta, D

HC Sparta Praha Jr. 13GP 0G 3A 3P even 10PIM

The Sparta Praha defenseman did not pick up where he left at theUnder-18 Junior Cup and went through an uninspiring opening month of regularseason competition. Vojta doesn’t show the same intensity anddetermination and those drawbacks are putting him into coach Jaromir Sindel’sdoghouse. Consistency is obviously a issue with this promisingdefenseman, who needs to convince his coach that he will show up everynight. Vojta displays a penchant to pull off a promising showing beforegoing unnoticed in the next game. A skilled puck-moving defenseman, Vojtadidn’t register a noticeable progress in his physical play andaggressiveness. He is holding his own relatively well, but doesn’t seem to bereally involved in the games and give his best effort. More offensivecontribution is asked from a prospect of his caliber, Vojta needs toupgrade on his overall play in the next months or his draft stock is goingto see severe damage.

Tomas Kudelka, D

HC Hame Zlin Jr. 10GP 4G 2A 6P +1 10PIM

The swift-skating Zlin defenseman is challenging Jakub Vojta for thetop Czech 2005 eligible defenseman and is slightly overtaking him at thisset of things. Kudelka spent the summer practicing with the senior teamand shows a remarkable composure on the ice for the Zlin junior team.Not a pure offensive-minded rearguard, Kudelka is creative with thepuck and looks for openings to make a long outlet pass, but still is careless with the puck at times and turns the puck over. A player blessed with above-average physicaltools, Kudelka isn’t a major physical force and needs to work on developinga nasty edge in his play, but overall registered a solid opening month.He ranks fifth in scoring on his Zlin junior team and is leading thedefensemen scoring chart at this point. He still can’t avoid the oddoff-games, though. The hope is here that the best is yet to come thisseason.

Martin Hanzal, F

HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. 11GP 9G 5A 14P even 22PIM

Martin Hanzal made a solid name for himself at the Under-18 Junior Cupand is asked to make use of all his previous experience to emerge asone of the leaders of his Ceske Budejovice team. At this point MartinHanzal sits at the second place in the Ceske Budejovice juniors scoringrace, where the top place is occupied by his older brother Jiri tiedwith Milan Gulas. Hanzal is showing progress in his in-close finishingskills and develops a better knack for scoring goals, which was hisdrawback during the previous seasons. A solid passer, Hanzal does show thedefensive awareness he displayed during the previous season, but needs toput his commitment to the defensive play on display more often. He hasthe size to emerge as a solid physical presence and Hanzal getsinvolved in traffic, where he can be a solid force with an adequate meanstreak. Hanzal is off to a promising start and his development curveis taking an upward path.

David Kuchejda, F

HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. 13GP 2G 8A 10P +1 18PIM

Just like his longtime linemate Martin Hanzal, David Kuchejda is comingoff an above-average showing at the Under-18 Junior Cup. The CeskeBudejovice junior team is counting on him to provide a good part of theoffensive punch and Kuchejda is only particularly meeting theexpectations. He needs to find consistency as he can be a non-factor after animpressive game. Kuchejda is asked to fill a role of a set-up player on theCeske Budejovice junior team and he leads the squad in assists by adecent margin. Kuchejda takes advantage of his solid vision and awarenessof his linemates to create quality plays. As a player who has the sizewoes pointing against him, Kuchejda has still to prove that he is ableto battle traffic effectively with regularity. With the CeskeBudejovice senior team setting its goal at winning the Div I senior league,Kuchejda isn’t expected to see much playing time on the senior levels, butis along with Hanzal among the frontrunners for promotion shouldinjuries strike the senior squad.

Lukas Klimek, F

HC Sareza Ostrava Jr. 10GP 4G 6A 10P -2 33PIM

Lukas Klimek registered a whooping start into the junior Extraleagueregular season with a seven-point effort in two games, but cooled offdramatically in the next six games, where he was held scoreless and ratherunimpressive in the games. After ten games played Klimek ranks third onhis Sareza Ostrava junior team scoring chart, trailing the leadersVojtech Klecka and Filip Mleko by one and six points respectively. Theenigmatic Sareza Ostrava forward still suffers from a lack of muscleespecially in the lower body and therefore a sub-par balance and strength. Heisn’t a steady force when it comes down to handle heavy traffic and hispoints have a tendency to come in streaks. Klimek possesses solid skatingskills and is adept at finding the open man, but needs to show awillingness to upgrade on his aggressiveness and a constant effort to improveon his physical strength.

Tomas Pospisil, F

HC Ocelari Trinec Jr. 10GP 6G 3A 9P +2 12PIM

A pleasant surprise during the first four weeks of the Czech juniorExtraleague’s regular season was the upgraded play of slick Trinec rightwinger Tomas Pospisil. Pospisil seems to realize how important is thisseason for his future career and ranks among the hardest working playerson the Trinec junior team. The added bulk has a positive influence onhis composure and playing style as he added an adequate physicaldimension to his game. Even if he isn’t a significant physical force, he can’tbe labeled soft now and his quick skating skills along with apersistence around the goal area make from him a regular point contributor.Tomas Pospisil is leading his Trinec junior team in scoring at this point,the first time in his career he achieved this feat. If he can keep uphis play and determination also in the upcoming months, watch for hisstock to rise.

Martin Husicka, F

HC Vsetin Jr. 11GP 0G 2A 2P -1 6PIM

The diminutive Vsetin forward ranks among the biggest disappointmentsof the previous junior Extraleague action. Husicka already possessesplenty of experience from the elite junior level from the previous season,but he fails to take his game to another level and impress in games. Husicka isn’t a significant contributor and is fitting the mold of aperimeter player. Even if he is blessed with above-average skatingskills, his wheels can’t make up for his severe size deficiency and Husickaisn’t a factor when asked to handle traffic. He can be pushed out ofscoring lanes and hasn’t found a way to score a goal so far.Average in his own end, Husicka is in a slump and has to convince peoplethat he is able to contribute. His stock is falling down and don’t expecthim to be picked in the 2005 draft unless he is able to turn his gamecompletely around.

Vaclav Lesak, D

HC Moeller Pardubice Jr. 12GP 1G 3A 4P even 10PIM

Relatively quietly Vaclav Lesak seems to find a way to emerge asone of the better 2005 eligible defensemen performing in the Czech juniorExtraleague. A player blessed with solid size, Lesak fits the mold of amore conservative defensively-minded rearguard who isn’t afraid ofexecuting along the boards and throw the occasional hit. Lesak works harddown low and is a solid force in his own end. Even if his stats mayindicate that he is developing an offensive side to his play, his styledidn’t change from the previous year. Lesak is far from a two-waydefender and his offensive output is rather limited thanks to an averagevision and awareness of his linemates. Still he is well underway to postingcareer number in points as his previous record set in 2003-04 with thePardubice midgets is 9 points. Lesak isn’t a top prospect as he isquite raw and inconsistent, but is a player who could be worth taking alook in the late rounds if he shows a steady progress in his play.

Ondrej Pavelec, G

HC Rabat Kladno Jr. 509 minutes 287 saves 2.71 GAA .925 SVP

The talented Kladno juniors netminder is enjoying a solid start intothe junior Extraleague season after backstopping the Czech Under-18 teamto a second-place finish at the Under-18 Junior Cup. Pavelec splitsduties with sophomore junior netminder Vit Schwamberger and managed to getthe starter’s duties under his control after an inspiring performancein the summer exhibition games. Pavelec is playing behind a talented,but very young defensive corps and the team’s success will highly dependfrom his performance in this season. The quick and athletic Pavelec isperforming up to par so far, being ranked sixth overall among juniorExtraleague goaltenders in save percentage, but all the netminders at thespots in front of him are more seasoned players. Pavelec performed onlyat the 9th grade level two seasons ago and is a fast-progressingnetminder who has a chance to be picked in the draft if he avoids significantslumps.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.